Combat Support

Whether you are a Chemical Corps lieutenant in a combat arms battalion or a Chemical Corps colonel making critical recommendations to the corps commander, you will play an invaluable part in winning on tomorrow's battlefield.

Throughout your career, you, as a chemical officer, can also expect to perform such diverse duties as platoon leader, commander, operations officer, project manager, instructor, and engineer. You must become an expert in all facets of combat operations, logistics, training, intelligence, personnel management, research, development, and analysis. The mission of the chemical officer is extremely challenging. Only the most motivated and enterprising officers fill this mold.

Upon graduation from the Chemical Officer Basic Course, you may be selected to go to Ranger and Airborne School. All basic course graduates will be affiliated with the Chemical Corps Regiment. This affiliation will foster long time loyalty and commitment which will perpetuate the history, customs, and traditions of the Chemical Corps. As a Chemical Corps officer, your service will also contribute to the proud tradition of the U.S. Army.

The success of the Army depends largely on its ability to move, shoot, and communicate. And if you can't communicate, you can't do the other two. It's a big responsibility for the men and women who wear the crossed semaphores.

Signal Corps officers are vital members of the combined arms team. And they play a dual role. Besides being technically proficient communications electronics officers, they also find themselves in the challenging role of combat leaders.

Training begins at the Signal Corps Officer Basic Course. Most newly commissioned lieutenants can expect a variety of assignments as platoon leaders in tactical combat signal units or as detachment commanders in signal units which operate strategic fixed station telecommunications switching centers, satellite terminals, and radio relay stations. A few who possess electrical engineering degrees are assigned to duties which involve the research and development of new communications electronics equipment, missile guidance systems, lasers, and computer hardware.

Signal officers advise commanders on the employment of cable, switching, radio, and satellite communications systems as well as command signal units at company, battalion, and brigade levels. Opportunities to serve as communications electronics staff officers are diverse and challenging with worldwide assignments at operational levels ranging from the forward edge of the battlefield to the White House Communications Agency in the nation's capital.

Keeping the Army in touch with the Army is a demanding and challenging job.

Determining an enemy's plans, intentions, and capabilities before they're set into motion is of critical value to military leaders. This is the job of Military Intelligence (MI).

The Army must be prepared to fight outnumbered and win in a high intensity conflict, or to defeat the shadow of guerrilla insurgency in a low intensity situation. In any scenario, military intelligence is of paramount importance.

With more than 30,000 members, MI is one of the largest branches in the Army. Duties include all aspects of planning, organization, training, and operations of tactical intelligence, counterintelligence, signals intelligence and electronic warfare, security, interrogation, and aerial reconnaissance and surveillance.

Military intelligence officers are engaged in fighting the "silent war" at tactical, operational, and strategic levels collecting, analyzing and disseminating intelligence data. And the war is continuous -- 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Newly commissioned officers attend the MI Officer Basic Course where they concentrate on acquiring tactical all-source intelligence, as well as basic soldiering skills. Every officer must know how to provide his future commander with the intelligence support needed to win on the battlefield, while possessing the skills and knowledge of the tactical soldier.

Military intelligence officers work with high-tech equipment in areas such as radio communications intercept and direction finding, computer analysis, exploitation of digital imagery, and transmission of satellite data. There is also an opportunity for extensive overseas travel.

The pressure of analyzing information, producing intelligence, and accurately predicting enemy plans and actions is a challenging and exciting job.

For bright, energetic young people who want to realize their full potential, MI offers exceptional opportunities for accomplishment and advancement.

Today's military police officer enjoys the distinction of a truly unique role in the Army by having two diverse and challenging missions. First is the ever- present need to prepare for war by leading and training combat ready military police forces in the rear area, and expedite battlefield movement of critical resources. Second is the peacetime garrison environment for law enforcement, criminal investigation, terrorism counter action, physical security, corrections, and crime prevention. This mission focuses on the human aspects of law enforcement and reflects the military police " motto of the troops and for the troops".

Just as the infantry is trained to conduct combat operations on the front lines, the Military Police Corps is trained to detect and deter the enemy in the rear area, protecting command posts, communications centers, and vital resources.

As a newly commissioned officer, you'll attend the Military Police Officer Basic Course. Your training will emphasize leadership, tactics, physical training, maintenance, and supply. Additional areas of study include military police operations, civil and military and communicative skills. You may also attend specialized course such as Airborne School, Air Assault School, and Adjutant General's Corps

Student Work: Widener ROTC

US Army Branch

The United States Army is categorized into a number of specialized branches; each with its own mission. Each is then further designated as a combat arms, combat support, or combat service support branch.

About Villanova

Villanova University was founded in 1842 by the Order of St. Augustine. To this day, Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition is the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s six colleges.